Outside Comfort
by achingblood
Summary: After suffering a loss, Annie can't seem to get back to normal. Maybe all she needs is someone new in her life to make her feel a bit less broken. STORY OF SEASON SPOILERS INSIDE! NadixAnnie and some RaegerxAnnie
1. Chapter 1

**THIS STORY CONTAINS STORY OF SEASONS SPOILERS. Sorry for such an aggressive opening but I don't want a single comment of people being mad at me for spoiling. So I am going to warn over and over again, if you have not played story of seasons and you are avoiding spoilers, then do not read this story. Seriously, just turn back and leave now. Like it's not just a little character blip that I'm spoiling like it's a plot point. So if you don't want to be spoiled don't read. Or do read, and don't yell at me. It's not my fault at this point.**

 **I just got inspired to start this story while playing SOS, so yeah. Not sure how long it's going to be. Also one small thing I feel the need to point out, I treat the in game seasons as if they were three months in the story… Yeah. So hope you enjoy!**

Raeger wished he knew how to help her feel better. But after something like death happens what can you really do? The whole town seemingly stood still for a day, everyone had met Madam Eda at one point or another. She used to come into the restaurant all the time and the young chef enjoyed talking to her quite a bit. When she passed on… No one was really ready for it. They all knew that she would go eventually, but it didn't make it easier.

Annie seemingly took it worst of all though. She used to come into town every day, make an effort to try and talk to everyone she could. When the town lost Eda she lost something as well. Now she simply walked through town to get to the trade depot when her crops were ready. She'd give polite nods to people passing by, and if anyone asked if she was alright she would dismiss them, saying "I'm fine" and finding the quickest way out of there.

The rest of the town went back to normal, she didn't.

Raeger was worried about her more than most of the town. They had formed a special relationship in the nine months she had lived in town. She came to talk to him every day, even once took care of him when he was sick. He honestly felt himself falling for her the more time they spent together. Even he couldn't break through her grief, she'd push him away like all the rest.

He tried to talk to her at the funeral but she was quite distraught, she didn't want to talk to anyone. He hated seeing her cry like that, it broke his heart. Deciding to give her space, he just left her alone. _"She's just busy with the new farm."_ He reasoned to himself every day she didn't come in. But a week passed without her dropping by so he went to go see her, check if she was alright. Eda's farm hadn't been touched at all. It was all left to Annie but it still looked the exact same as it was at the funeral. Empty. He knocked on the door, asked if she was alright. She just said she was fine, she was busy, and closed the door before he could ask any more.

So he stood in the restaurant. Late evening as snow fell past his windows. The place was nearly empty, only a couple at the very back both enjoying a piece of pie. Agate walked into the building and smiled at her friend. He responded with a half-hearted smile. "Hey Agate. What can I get for you?"

She took a seat at the counter before thinking for a moment. "Apple pie if you got it?" She beamed another happy smile.

"Coming right up." He walked over to the desert shelf to get her some apple pie. She watched him and tilted her head when he came back. She knew her friend well, even when he was sick he was always happy at work. It was as if the life was sucked out of him.

"Are you okay Raeger?"

He put the pie down in front of her and let out a sigh, "Just thinking about Annie."

"Oh… Still hasn't dropped by then I'm guessing?" She asked.

"Nope… It's been two weeks. I'm worried about her. Went to go see her and she still won't talk to me. Fritz said the same thing and they're pretty much best friends."

"She just needs time. If she was really close to Eda then it might take a while longer for her to get over her death." She picked at her pie as she spoke. "All people grieve differently. I haven't known her for long but… She is a quiet person. Space is probably good for her."

They both went quiet as the other couple walked past and out of the restaurant, paying earlier.

"I'll just give her some space then… But after another couple days and I'm going to go see her. She needs to open up eventually, right?"

Agate just nodded. "She will eventually." She assured him and began to eat her cake. Raeger started to clean up, feeling a little bit less worried about it.

The next morning Annie found herself walking up to the Margaret farm. Elise had wanted some farm inspection two days prior, so she had to bring over some vegetables. She didn't really want to go, but she knew eventually she would have to get back into regular life.

She walked up the large stone steps and shivered. Even though the sun was shining, the snow from the day before still covered the ground. When the entered the farm though the snow had been cleared. She just figured Elise had made her servants do it so she wouldn't have to step in the snow. Up ahead she saw Elise in her signature bright pink dress, and there was someone else with her. Someone Annie didn't recognise from town.

Walking over, she got a closer look of the man. He had a very exotic look, his clothing reminded her a bit of Asche's from the trade depot. His white hair and red eyes stood out most though, intriguing her greatly. As she approached Elise looked over, halting the conversation.

"Hello Annie. You finally managed to make it out here," She smiled at the other farmer. She wasn't trying to be rude, it was just her way of talking.

"Just had to wait for the crops to grow," Annie admitted, the man just stayed quiet.

"Oh, leave that for another day. I want to introduce you to Nadi," Elise gestured to the man who nodded his head to Annie respectfully. "Nadi is the landscaper I hired to work on my estate."

Annie smiled at him politely, actually glad to see a new face in town. "Hello. I'm Annie," she stuck out her hand to shake his.

He shook it, "It's nice to meet you Annie."

Elise was glad to see Annie talking to someone. She wasn't the closest to Annie, but she noticed the change in her after Eda died. "Well Nadi, you start work tomorrow. Better be well rested, want you here bright and early."

"Yes Ma'am."

"Maybe you two could get to know each other a little better?" Elise suggested. "I should be going now. Check on the fields… And Annie drop by with some vegetables another day!" Elise told her.

Before Annie could protest the girl was walking away. She just wanted to get the farm inspection done and over with. There was a pause between her and Nadi before she turned and looked at him.

"So… where are you staying?" She asked.

"At the hotel in town," He responded, she could already tell he wasn't the talkative type. Not that she minded. For the past two weeks the last thing she wanted to do was talk. In a social town like Oak Tree, it's hard to avoid.

"I could show you where it is if you'd like? I'm going that way anyways. My farm is that direction." She said and then paused, "If you want I could actually show you around town. Don't have anything else to do today… That is if you want me to show you around."

He considered the request for a moment before nodding. "Alright, thank you Annie." For the first time since she met him he gave her a small smile. And for the first time in two weeks, she wasn't thinking about Eda.

 **That's the end of chapter one! Hope you enjoyed it! If you want then give it a review, always appreciate feedback**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! So hope you guys enjoyed chapter one, I'm really feeling inspired to write this story the more I play, so as of now the upload time is quick, but might not always be that way. But hope you enjoy it either way!**

The silence between the Landscaper and Farmer was awkward to say the least.

Once they were away from Margaret farm however, Annie turned to Nadi. "Have you seen around town at all before?"

"I walked through on my way to the farm. Other than that no. I haven't even really heard about it." He said. "How about you? Lived here long?"

"No. Well about nine months. Live on a farm up north."

"Oh."

Silence fell over the pair again.

But this time the silence was comfortable. Nadi was admittedly not a talker, especially not to strangers. Out of the corner of her eye Annie glanced back at him, for the first time in two weeks glad someone wasn't trying to get her to talk.

When they walked past the restaurant Annie couldn't help but feel guilty. She missed Raeger, but she couldn't go back there yet. She knew because she had tried. A cold shock went down her spine as she shivered, causing Nadi to break the silence, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Just a little cold," she put her head down as they arrived at the inn.

"You don't have to show me around if you want," He said.

She smiled lightly. "My farm work is done for the day. It's no problem really."

He smirked lightly, his eyes alluring to her with the look on his face. "Right… Well if you don't mind waiting I'm just going to drop my belongings off in the room I got. Give me like five minutes."

She nodded and smiled as he walked into the inn. She sat outside on a bench as she heard a familiar squeal. "Annie!"

Before she could even look over Melanie was hugging her tightly. It took a moment before the surprise wore off and she hugged the little girl back. "Hey Melanie… How are you?"

"I'm good. How are you? I haven't seen you in so long." The little girl sighed sadly. "It's like you never come to play anymore."

"Oh. I'm sorry Melanie. I've been busy on the farm." Annie lied, feeling bad about lying to a child.

She nodded. "Well… You should come back and play more."

"I will eventually. When I'm less busy."

"Promise?"

Annie hesitated. She knew that eventually she was going to come back, but everything was so complicated it was fogging her vision. When she looked back at the little girl holding out her pinky for a "pinky promise" she smiled and connected her pinky finger. "Promise."

Melanie perked up and hugged her. "Great!"

Nadi walked out as the two hugged, pausing. Once the hug broke he cleared his throat. "Ready?"

She looked up. "Right. Yeah I'm ready. Bye Melanie." She stood up and walked away with Nadi, glad to be away from the situation.

After a moment Nadi spoke, "Are you alright?"

" _Am I really that obviously messed up?"_ Annie thought to herself and sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"Honestly the guy in the inn asked if you seemed alright." He admitted. "I don't want to pry, it's just a weird thing for someone to ask."

"Well… To be honest I had a friend die a couple weeks ago." She told him and then frowned to herself. _"Why the hell would you tell him that?"_ She thought to herself. "I just haven't been in town much since then. You're actually probably the first person I've really hung out with since then."

He looked at her as she kept her head down, surprised she would even tell him. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thanks…"

"And I get wanting to just be away from everyone. It's… Tough." The two walked through town as they talked. "I told the guy you were alright anyhow. If he hadn't said anything I wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong to begin with."

"Thanks again. Yeah, I don't know it's just been hard. And I know they're just worried about me but I don't need them to worry. It just makes it harder when they do."

"I get that. If you don't want to talk about any of it, that's fine. Just know if you do… I don't know. I could listen or whatever."

She looked up at him and smiled as he flashed a smile back. Something about the man felt… Different. She had gotten so used to Oak Tree and its residence it began to feel normal, but there was always something strange about it for her. They were all friendly, and warm, and there was nothing wrong with that. Hell they even began to feel like family. But she had come from the city where no one was like that. Nadi… He was the closest thing she had reminding her of her real home. He wasn't cold, he was just… Normal. At least for her. It was oddly comforting to have someone who understood her, who didn't feel like a family member.

Plus there was something about those red, enticing eyes…

"Come on Nadi," she smiled brightly for the first time in a while. "I'll show you around."

 **End of chapter two! This will probably be the shortest chapter in the series because it's just general set up, so yeah it will ramp up. But please read and review! I love reviews, they make me happy and give me motivation to keep being consistent with uploading even with my school work and everything. So thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews so far, let's just jump right into this**

"It's been a couple of days."

It was early Thursday morning when Agate came to the see Raeger. The restaurant was closed this early so he figured she was coming to check in on him. As much as he figured he didn't need her to. He was just about ready to head out the door when he bumped into her.

"So you're just going to go to her farm and see what's going on?" She asked cautiously. She wasn't sure how to tell him that she had in fact been around town the past few days. She saw her almost every day, heading to the Inn, or more often Elise's farm. She just never seemed to go into the restaurant.

And she was almost always with Nadi.

"What choice do I have? I'm worried about her. She never comes here anymore…" He sighed and shook his head. "If there's any way that I can help her I want to help."

"Raeger…" She paused and shook her head. There was no way around it. "She'll be fine. She's been in town a few times, I've seen her. She seems to be healing."

It took a moment in silence before Raeger responded again, "She's been around here?"

"Yeah."

Another moment passed. "Well why hasn't she even come by to tell me she's alright? She knows I'm worried about her."

"Raeger-"

"I mean has she been talking to anyone else in town? Or did I just do something to upset her?"

She shook her head. It would have to come out eventually, but she knew it would probably come off the wrong way to him. He hadn't told her yet, but she knew his feelings for Annie went way deeper than he let on. Hell he had dated girls that she could tell he didn't care about as much as her. They weren't "Just friends". And well… As confident as Raeger came off she knew he could have a jealous side. "Well… She hasn't been talking to much of anyone. Just one guy really."

"One guy? So like Fritz?" He asked. It made sense, they were best friends and he had been pretty torn up about Eda as well. All though the male farmer did move on a lot faster than she did.

"No…" She was trying to find a way to tell him. If it had been Fritz, or Mistel, or even Klaus then it would be easier. He knew them, he knew that she was just friends with them. "Actually it's been… Nadi."

"Nadi? Who's he?"

"He's the landscaper that Elise hired to work on her farm."

"That guy with the white hair? Oh yeah… He's come in here once." Raeger thought about it again."He just moved here. Why's she talking to him?"

"I don't know." She admitted. "But she seems happy. At least she's smiling a whole lot more than when she was just by herself."

On the one hand, Raeger was happy for Annie. If she was doing better after Eda's death then that's a step forward. On the other hand he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. They used to be so close, she would come into the restaurant every day. He felt like he was falling in love with her, and thought maybe she felt the same way. He knew she was going through a tough time, but to not talk to anyone but… Nadi?

He hadn't realized the silence in the room as he was lost in his thoughts. "Raeger? Are you alright?"

His thoughts broke as he nodded. "Yeah. I mean she's happy, that's all that matters right?"

She smiled and nodded as well. That really was what he believed, he just wished he could believe it without the jealousy hanging on in his brain.

"I'm still going to go head up to her farm though." He decided. "Just to check in. Thanks Agate."

The both of them walked out the door as she watched him keep walking up towards the farm. She sighed and shook her head, thinking to herself, _"Why does that man need to be so stubborn?"_

Annie was still at the farm by herself. She sat on one of the wooden fences watching over her animals. It was sunny enough to let them out, even though she could almost lose her white Angora rabbit in the snow. She couldn't help but giggle when she saw the little bunny ears sticking up past all the fluff, bouncing over to the feeding bin to get some food.

"What's so funny?" She hadn't even noticed Nadi had come to the farm. He was leaning his arms against the fence beside her, although he wasn't watching the animals, he was too focused on her.

She smiled down at him. "Just the rabbit… It blends into the snow so all you can see is two big floppy ears."

He looked down to see the rabbit and smirked his signature smirk. "Huh."

"So what brings you up north?" She asked, taking her gaze off the rabbit.

"You're always visiting me at work, figured maybe I'd turn the tables for once. Besides, haven't seen your farm yet. Figured I'd come see a cow or something."

"Well there are my cows. Hanako and Mose." She shrugged. "Aren't you working today?"

"Yeah, I am but later. Elise told me to go think of some new ideas for her garden. She wants it to out-do every other garden in the town."

She laughed. "She wants everything she does to out-do everyone in town. Have you seen her in a competition?"

He grinned. "Not yet. I can imagine though."

The two looked back out at the animals grazing in the small patch. Over the few days they knew each other, they had gotten close. They were perfectly fine to just sit in silence and enjoy their surroundings. They were more than fine with it, the pair almost preferred silence. Just being around each other.

"Annie?"

Their precious silence was broken. They both looked over to see Raeger as he walked through the snow. She felt her heart drop. If she was being honest with herself, yes she missed Raeger. They were close for so long, and she felt bad for cutting off all contact. But even just seeing him, as it was with most people in the town, reminded her of Eda.

"Raeger, what are you doing here?" She jumped off the fence and walked over, leaving Nadi behind to watch the animals.

"I honestly just came to check on you. I've barely seen you in the past few weeks. I was just a little worried." He admitted as she just sighed hard.

"I'm fine Raeger. Please stop worrying about me…"

"How can I not worry? Annie you never acted like this before. And I get it if you're still upset about Eda-"

She hadn't heard her name in so long. The moment the name left his lips she closed her eyes, feeling like crying all over again. She made it clear to Nadi to not talk about Eda. The only way she felt okay was by focusing on something else. "Raeger I'm fine. I'll come in on Sunday and we'll talk. Okay? Just please leave."

Nadi glanced over when he heard the change in her voice. Raeger sighed. "I'm sorry if saying her name brought something up but it's been weeks. You have to deal with this."

"Just leave, please I'll talk to you Sunday."

"Annie-"

"She told you to leave." Nadi walked over to them, standing beside Annie and glaring at Raeger. "So leave."

"This has nothing to do with you, Nadi." Raeger said calmly, already annoyed by the guy.

"It doesn't, but you're making her upset. She's my friend so I'll get involved. She wants you to leave so leave."

"I'm just trying to make sure she's alright."

"Well obviously she doesn't want your help." Nadi growled lowly. He just wanted to protect Annie, but she simply shook her head.

"Stop fighting, both of you. Raeger I'll see you on Sunday. Nadi, I'll see you tonight at the Inn, okay?"

Both the men were still glaring at each other before Raeger looked at Annie. "See you then." He turned and left the farm, still frustrated and feeling like he just made things worse.

Nadi looked at Annie. "I'm sorry about that I just-"

"I'll see you tonight at the Inn." She repeated and gave a small reassuring smile. He sighed and touched her arm before going down in the same direction as Raeger.

Annie sighed and walked back to her animals, jumping back up on the fence. She wasn't sure why Raeger was acting that way, or even why Nadi was. Sure they were friends, but she hadn't seen him act that way before. Nadi was either quiet, or laid back. She never saw him get angry or anything. What was she going to say to him when she saw him tonight?

Her thoughts were broken when Hanako the cow walked over to her and pressed her nose against her leg, nuzzling Annie almost like a dog would. She reached down and pet the cows head as she sighed.

Then another thought popped into her head.

What was she going to say to _Raeger_?

 **Another chapter done! Please I encourage you to read and review! Love to hear what people think of the story! Thanks for reading everyone!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, hope you're enjoying the story so far! I'm enjoying writing it (that's why it's getting updated quite frequently) so yeah, thanks for all the reviews and everything, it's really appreciated.**

Sunday came around and Annie came to Oak Tree town. She looked down at her watch, it was already 10:34. She had taken way longer with her chores than she had expected. It wasn't her fault, she wanted to come in early to talk to Raeger, but now she figured she should wait. They wouldn't be able to get much of a conversation going if he had to open the restaurant ten minutes after arriving. So instead she took a left turn and went to West Oak Tree, down to the antique shop.

The bell by the door rang out as she walked in the store. Mistel stood on a small step ladder, cleaning the large wooden globe in the middle of the room. Once she entered he looked over and smiled. "Annie, what a nice surprise. Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, sorry I've been busy with the new farm," She said.

"No need to apologize. Under the circumstances it's understandable." He got off the step ladder and walked over to her, hugging her.

She hugged him back. Mistel was always easy to talk to and very sweet. She loved to have his company. "Thanks. Won't keep you too long since you seem to be working. Is Iris upstairs?"

"She should be. Either there or up at Klaus' place."

"Alright, thanks." She smiled as he went back to the globe. She walked up the stairs and began to look around. The room hadn't changed at all in the weeks she had been away. Everything was clean, orderly and neat. Except one desk that was covered in paper and books, a sure sign that Iris was fighting another bought of writers block.

The tall blond sat at the desk, staring out the window. Annie knocked on the wall and Iris looked over, smiling sweetly. "Annie, hello how are you?"

Iris came and hugged her just as her brother had done, and Annie hugged back. "I'm alright. I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

"No, I should probably get away from my writing for a while. Some distance might help me generate more ideas. Come and sit."

She sat down at the table with her and the two caught up. Since she moved to Oak Tree Iris had been one of her best friends, the girl in town she was closest to at least. She respected her a lot, always having an even head on her shoulders and never getting into any drama like some of the other girls did. Iris almost acted like the older sister she never had. She was sweet, caring, and always gave good advice. At least that was what Annie was hoping she could get from her.

"So is there anything else on your mind?" Iris asked after they had talked for some time.

"Well… Yes actually. I was hoping maybe you could give me some advice on it."

"I'm willing to try help." She smiled reassuringly as Annie returned the small smile.

"Well since… Eda passed on, I've been having kind of a hard time in town. Everything just seems to remind me of her. So I've been a little distant… Except with Nadi."

"That landscaper who works on Elise's farm?"

"Yeah. You know him?"

Iris paused to think. "I've seen him around town a little bit. He's very quiet we've never really spoken."

"He is quiet, but he's nice." Annie admitted. "But anyways, he and I have been getting closer. He's really helped me out with this whole Eda thing. But I guess I've been neglecting Raeger, I always used to come in but it's been hard so I really haven't. But anyways, I was up at the farm with Nadi, Raeger just came to check in on me… Well he brought up Eda. And I got a bit upset and told him to leave. He wanted to make sure I was alright so he didn't leave, and then Nadi came in and the two started to argue…"

"Oh. How bad did it get?"

"Not that bad." She told her quickly, not wanting her to get a bad impression. "I stopped it pretty quickly. It was just weird. When I talked to Nadi about it he apologized to me, but just kept saying Raeger deserved it and he was just protecting me."

Iris nodded, thinking it over. "What did Raeger say?"

"I haven't talked to him yet. I'm going to go talk to him once he closes up the restaurant." She sighed. "That's what I need some advice on. I just don't know what to say to him when I get there."

"Well… Just tell him what you told me. You've been having troubles since Eda's passing and Nadi has been helping you."

"With you it's easy to say that. But… I don't know. It's something about him. Just makes him hard to talk to about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Every time I'm around him I feel like crying." Annie admitted. "And I don't know why."

"You two are really close. Maybe you just feel safe enough to cry in front of him." Iris suggested as Annie sighed. "You and Raeger are close. No matter what happened you two will figure it out okay?"

"Okay. Thank you Iris."

"It's no problem." Iris smiled and hugged her again.

"I'll let you get back to your work. Good luck with your writers block."

She laughed lightly and looked back at the mountain of papers on her desk. "Thank you. Good luck with Raeger."

Annie simply smiled and head back downstairs. Waving to Mistel, she left the antique store, still not excited for the restaurant to close.

When the time came, Annie came to the restaurant and looked at her watch. Closed ten minutes ago. She knocked on the door and waited.

Raeger came and opened the door, giving her the same soft smile she was so used to. "Annie, I was wondering when you were going to come over. Come on in."

He let her in and led her over to a table where the two could talk. She usually wouldn't come at closing, the building was a little eerie so empty. "So Raeger, I think we should talk about what happened. And the past couple of weeks."

"Look I'm sorry about what happened up on the farm. I was honestly just worried about you is all." He admitted. As hard as it was for her, she tried to keep eye contact with him. "I didn't think it would… Get to that with him."

"It's fine…" She said and looked away for a moment. "You don't have to worry about me."

"I can't help it Annie. You're my friend," he took in a deep breath. "I care about you a lot actually so… I can't help but worry."

"Well please don't. I'm fine." She said, looking down at the table. _"God, why is this so hard? Why can't I talk to him?"_ She thought to herself.

"Annie… Please tell me what's going on with you lately…"

She looked back up at him, when their eyes met she felt a lump in her throat. "Eda's passing has just been hard. Nadi's been helping me with it. I'm fine."

He sighed and reached out, touching her hand. "You are clearly not fine Annie. I'm your friend you can talk to me."

"Raeger, yes I am. I've been working through it…"

He could feel a snap in his brain. "No you haven't. Annie I am here for you, and I want to help you. All you're doing with Nadi is sweeping your emotions away. You aren't dealing with them."

"How would you even know that?" She pulled her hands back.

"Because you almost cried just hearing her name!" She stood up and he followed her. "I know this is hard and I know what you are going through. It is killing me knowing that you are going through this."

She wiped her eyes as she walked towards the door. "I can't talk about this anymore Raeger."

When she went to grab the doorknob he grabbed her hand. "Please Annie… Please just talk to me."

She just kept shaking her head, unable to control the tears streaming down her cheeks anymore. He reached up and wiped her tears away. "Look Raeger I'm sorry I have to go."

"Please just stay. I want to help you I can't stand you being upset like this and not being able to help you." He told her, feeling more stressed as she cried. "Please Annie… I love you. I hate to see you like this because I love you so much."

As soon as she heard the words she froze, and he regret ever saying them. They were true, he had been falling deeper in love with her every time she came into the restaurant. Every time she would come visit him before work just to say hi.

As for her… She just didn't know.

Especially because all she could think about in that moment was Nadi.

"I really… I should go." She said quietly. "I'm… I'm so so sorry."

She tugged her hand free of his and paused, taking in a deep breath before turning the door handle and walking out. He was left speechless as the door shut behind her. He sunk down into the nearest chair and buried his face in his hands as he began to think to himself.

" _How badly did I just screw up?"_

 **End of chapter four! Thanks for everyone who keeps reading, hope you enjoy everything. This was an AnniexRaeger centric chapter pretty much… So I don't know how long this story will go, I'm kind of just going where my imagination takes me, but I do hope you enjoy it.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry this took a while to update. Random writers block for this story. Hope you enjoy it anyways.**

"You have quite the habit of coming here very late in the evening."

Annie stood at Nadi's door, listening to him speak. He said it more in a factual way than really being irritated, but he seemed less than impressed with the time of night she chose to come.

"Sorry… Just needed to talk." She admitted. He sighed and stepped aside to let her in.

"You're lucky I'm a night owl." He said and shut the door behind her. Her coming that late would not help the rumor going around that Annie and Nadi had a more serious relationship, but he didn't mind. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Eda…"

He paused and sat down with her on the bed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I have to talk about her eventually…" She sighed. "It's just been so hard since she passed. Everything in town reminds me of her. She was the first person I met here, she took me in for a week and taught me all I needed to know about farming."

"She meant a lot to you. It's alright to be upset about that stuff." Nadi said.

"I know. It's just the reminders are everywhere. I mean… That guy Raeger from the other day, we used to be really close. Now it's hard to even go into his restaurant. I just remember going with her. And… Talking about him with her."

It was something she wasn't planning to tell Nadi, and she still would refuse to go into detail if she asked. When she first came to town she was definitely attracted to Raeger. It would be hard not to be. She talked to Eda about it who would constantly joke that they would end up married. Over time, Annie got over her feelings of attraction to Raeger. She accepted that they would be friends. But the joke continued, and every time Annie would just laugh it off. She had a habit of making those kind of jokes, even involving Fritz, Klaus and Mistel when she admitted to the older lady that she and Raeger were just friends. They were just harmless jokes.

" _Well whoever you marry then, I'll be there at your wedding."_ Eda would tell her with a smile. Once again, Annie would just laugh and shrug the comment off. Figured there was no way Eda _wouldn't_ be there. She blinded herself to the thought of mortality.

"I just couldn't handle being there." Annie finally said. She shook her head, avoiding eye contact with Nadi, and stood up. "I should go. Sorry for coming here so late."

"Don't worry about it." He stood up and walked her to the door. "I'm here whenever you need me… Although it might be easier if it wasn't at night." He smirked and she laughed lightly.

"Well thanks Nadi. For listening."

"You didn't talk much. If you want to talk more than you can stay." He told her.

She shook her head. "No, it's fine. Maybe tomorrow though?"

"Yeah, sure." He smiled and opened the door for her. There was a brief silence between them as their eyes locked.

She wasn't sure why, maybe it was just after the falling out with Raeger she needed someone. But she leaned in and kissed Nadi. Caught off guard, his eyes widened and he tensed up for a few seconds before relaxing into the kiss. He kissed her back for a few moments before his mind came back to him and he pulled away, leaving them both blushing.

"Um… We shouldn't… Um… You're emotional so… That wouldn't be right." He stuttered.

She took a step back as well, a few feet between them now. "Right I'm sorry. I didn't mean… Sorry. Damnit. I didn't mean…"

"You didn't mean it." He interrupted. "It's fine. You were emotional, did it on impulse, you didn't mean it. Let's just forget it."

It wasn't what she was going to say, but if that justification made him feel any better she would go for it. She just didn't mean to make anything awkward. "Right… Thanks. Sorry again."

"Don't be. I get it…" He swallowed as the two avoided each other's gazes awkwardly.

"I'll still see you tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yeah. See you then."

She hurried off and he shut the door behind her when she left. The kiss was running through his mind like a video on repeat.

" _She was emotional. She did it on impulse, she didn't mean it."_ He kept telling himself that as he walked back to his bed and laid down.

" _Let's just forget it."_

He shut his eyes, trying to forget what happened, trying to just get some rest. It was clear within ten seconds however that that wouldn't be happening any time soon.

" _Damn,"_ He thought to himself, _"That girl really doesn't want me to sleep tonight."_

 **End of chapter. Just wanted to throw out there that this story was really hard to write for me without including RaegerxAnnie shipping. It's still a NadixAnnie story though, but just because of the plot I planned out it's hard to do without Raeger. So anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Two days had gone by where Annie hadn't talked to Raeger, or Nadi. One she had ran out on after he admitted to being in love with her, and the other she kissed and he pulled back. What was she supposed to say to either of them?

She was in the field, brushing out one of her sheep. She knew that Raeger wasn't the one for her. She liked him, everyone liked him. He was very easy to get along with. She didn't know she was leading him on, or that he had such strong feelings for her. Even if Eda was still alive, and things were the exact same, she still wouldn't be in love with Raeger. They were friends in her mind. That was all.

But she didn't want to hurt him anymore than she already had. Cutting off communication for so long put a rift in their relationship, she wasn't sure it would be repaired. He still had feelings for her even after everything. The way he looked when he said he loved her, the way his eyes were so fixed on hers, she knew he was being honest. And she knew that he was safe. The chef was her friend, but again… Nothing more.

When she heard the notion of love… All she could think of was Nadi. The strange landscaper who had just moved to town. She had only known him for a little bit but already she felt this strong bond to him. The attraction was instant for her, seeing his deep red eyes and the smirk he almost always had. The way he listened to her… He wasn't like Raeger. He had a fire inside of him, a side to him that she couldn't tear away from. He was only ever honest, he only ever told her how he really felt.

Was he right though? _"You're emotional… It wouldn't be right."_ The words kept flashing in her mind when he pulled away from their kiss. Was she just vulnerable? Was everything she felt for him just in her mind, made up to distract herself from the thought of Eda? He was there for her… She was sure that wasn't it though.

"Hey!" Her thoughts were broken when she heard the all too familiar voice. She turned around to see Nadi walking towards her. "What's the big deal Annie?"

"What?" She stood up as her sheep ran to go be with the other animals in the other side of the field.

"You heard me," he walked over and effortlessly jumped over the fence to face her. "You kiss me and then just ignore me? What's going on?"

She paused. "You said you didn't want to kiss me. That it wouldn't be right."

"Yeah, it wouldn't be right. But you don't just leave me for a day. I was…" A furious blush came over his face. "Damnit."

"You were what?"

He looked away, the same frown on his face but the blush deepening. "I was worried okay? Jeez, really have to make me say it?"

She blinked a couple times. "You were worried?"

"Yeah… I mean you ran off so quickly and I was just… I didn't see you all the next day. I don't know… I didn't like the thought of you being here sad and stuff…" He groaned. "I'm not good with words okay? Just don't do that again!"

"Well, I'm sorry…" She said, trying to hide the smile she had to herself. He was worried about her.

There was a pause in silence between them, only the sounds of the animals grazing in the field could be heard. The blush on his face didn't go away as he looked back at her. "And I never said I didn't want to kiss you… I just said I shouldn't."

She couldn't help but have a smile spread on her face as she started to giggle. Something about the way he said things was funny to her. He groaned once again as she kept laughing. "Come on don't laugh! I told you I was bad with words… Why are girls so confusing?"

She laughed a little longer before looking at him and reaching up and touching his cheek. "You… Are something special Nadi."

Before he could open his mouth to protest she leaned in and kissed him. This time neither of them had any intentions of pulling away, enjoying the feel of their lips on the other. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in deeper. The kiss remained soft though, Nadi keeping a gentle touch to him that she just melted into. He felt… Right. Kissing him felt right, loving him felt right.

In that moment, in his arms, everything from the past seemingly slipped away. Every thought of Eda was gone, the mourning, the pain, all of it. All she could think about was the man who was embracing her, the man she felt herself falling for every second she was with him.

When the kiss finally broke he reached up and stroked some hair out of her eyes, the smirk on his face but him keeping the heavy blush. "You're something special too, Annie."

They were both lost in each other's eyes, enjoying the moment of pure bliss. Neither of them noticed Raeger, standing at the entrance to the farm.

He just simply sighed and shook his head, turning around and walking back to the forest path. Agate was around looking for bees and other mountain bugs. She looked up when her friend approached. "Was she there?"

He nodded, thinking of her and Nadi. "Yeah… She's fine." He admitted and gave her a small smile. "Come on, let's get back to the restaurant. I'll cook you up something on the house."

She smiled and nodded, going beside him and walking back to town. It hurt, but he knew that it was what he had to do.

Leaving Annie to be in the comfort Nadi.

 **That's the end! There might be a sequel to this story involving some Raeger and Agate, or perhaps with another bachelorette, but that won't be for a while if I decide to do it. Thank you for all the awesome reviews that have come in. It's been awesome to write a Nadi story, I wish he was a more used bachelors in fanfic because he's actually super fun to write.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the story, and if you like then look forward to some more harvest moon stories!**


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